INTERNET OF THINGS SECURITY GUIDELINE LAUNCHED TO COUNTER THREATS TO PRIVACY AND NETWORK RESILIENCE IN THE IOT AGE

Sydney, 23 February 2017 – The increasing connectivity of physical, digital, and human systems, known as the Internet of Things, or IoT, is the hot button technology of the moment and will revolutionise our economies and everyday lives. It is intrinsic not only to many highly anticipated consumer applications like the smart home and connected, self-driving cars but also to a huge number of industrial uses many of which have not yet been anticipated.

While the Internet of Things may promise a boost to the Australian economy of $120B by 2025, the pervasiveness of the IoT also means that security and privacy need to be at the forefront of thinking and technological development to minimise the risks associated with the connected, big data use of IoT.

The IoTAA Security Guideline was launched at KPMG’s new Melbourne offices this morning by Gavin Smith, President and Chairman of Robert Bosch Australia, and Chair of the IoTAA Board.

The Federal Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security, the Hon. Dan Tehan MP, delivered a keynote address at the event.

“Managing security risks and protecting user privacy are vital to realising the benefits of digital transformation”, says IoT Alliance Australia CEO, Frank Zeichner.

“We see a security agenda as vital to build trust in an IoT-connected world for consumers and business users, as well as an opportunity for Australian cyber security industry”, says Mr Zeichner.

Released today, the IoTAA Security Guideline is the first in a series of documents on IoT security and network resilience that IoTAA is set to deliver over the coming months.

The IoTAA Security Guideline provides top-level guidance to CEOs and CIOs, in particular in the industry sectors where IoT is hot right now, including consumer, industrial, agriculture, and smart cities.

The Guideline aims to promote a ‘security by design’ approach to IoT. “IoT is everywhere, and we are already seeing the insecurity that it can bring. We really want the Guideline to help industry players understand how to practically apply security and privacy for IoT devices”, says co-author and outgoing Chair of the IoTAA Workstream on Cyber Security and Network Resilience, Malcolm Shore.

Chair of the IoTAA Executive Council and Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, is supportive of the initiative, “It’s great that IoTAA published this under a creative commons licence and is engaging with Communications Alliance to publish this excellent work in a second version. A public consultation process will give a wider range of stakeholders the opportunity to review and add value to the document before publishing it as an Industry Guideline – which can then be updated over time as new developments and potential risks become evident.”

ABOUT IoTAA The vision of IoTAA is to empower industry to grow Australia’s competitive advantage through IoT. IoTAA has 400 members from approximately 200 organisations across its six workstreams. IoTAA was incorporated as a not-for-profit entity in July 2016, emerging from the Communications Alliance IoT Think Tank, established in 2015. IoTAA is hosted and supported by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) at its Broadway Campus in Sydney.